I love fall for its comforting foods: creamy soups, sweet squashes, cool season veggies...But I have to say, I do believe my favorite thing about fall foods is pumpkin. My son loves Halloween. So much so, that his favorite colors are orange and black, he watches Nightmare Before Christmas all year long, carries Halloween costume magazines around like they are treasures, and likes to play games where he predicts what each person he knows will dress as. Our entire October revolves around Halloween. I love when we go to the Pumpkin Patch at a farm because I always take it as an opportunity to stock up on squash (sugar pumpkins, butternut, acorn, turban squash, white pumpkins) for the season. But this year I am already getting a jump on it with some sugar pumpkins I bought at the farmer's market. This recipe for Spicy Pumpkin Soup was adapted from Simply Recipes.
Ingredients
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Pinch ground cayenne pepper
1-2 sugar pumpkins (6 cups of chopped roasted pumpkin)
5 cups of vegetable broth
2 cups of 2% milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
Cut tops off sugar pumpkins (about 1/3 way down to allow for a nice bowl), scoop out the seeds and strings, lie face down on a tin-foil lined baking pan. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices and stir for a minute more.
Add pumpkin and 5 cups of vegetable broth; blend well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer soup, in batches, to a food processor. Cover tightly and puree until smooth. Return soup to saucepan.
With the soup on low heat, add brown sugar and mix. Slowly add milk while stirring to incorporate. Add cream. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Serve in individual bowls. Sprinkle the top of each with toasted pumpkin seeds.
Serves 8.
